This Day in Minnesota History

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Today's Date: March 19

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1849

Aaron Goodrich is appointed chief justice of Minnesota Territory. (See entry for November 28.)

1867

A treaty signed in Washington, D.C., establishes the White Earth Reservation for the Ojibwe, and the transfer of the Mississippi Ojibwe to the site begins June 14. The leader Bagone-giizhig (Hole-in-the-Day the Younger), wanting no "mixed bloods" on the reservation, tries to block their relocation. Bad relations result from this policy, and Bagone-giizhig is assassinated on June 27, 1868, near his home in Crow Wing.

1880

A pedestrian bridge connecting Fort Snelling to St. Paul is completed.

1992

Rebecca Rand, Minnesota's best-known brothel operator, pleads guilty in Ramsey County District Court to three prostitution-related felonies and agrees to turn her buildings over to authorities, as well as pay $200,000 to settle a civil-forfeiture suit. She observes, "I went through so many years without a pimp or anyone taking my money. . . Now the government decided to do that."

2020

An elderly Ramsey County resident becomes the first Minnesotan to die from the COVID-19 virus.